Damiah Kasim Suker, Sanaa Jameel Thamer and Taha Jasim Al Taha
Maternal over nutrition may induce long term metabolic complications in offspring. We investigated the effects of fatty acid composition of maternal diets throughout the mothers’ life and during pregnancy on postnatal obesity, puberty, leptin, insulin and metabolic parameters in offspring. The obesity was induced by feeding with high fat diet HF (45%) for 12 weeks with control group LF. The obese rats divided to five subgroups HF-HF (45% tallow), HFP. d (22.5% peanut), HF-O.d (22.5% olive oil),HF-M.d (22.5% tallow), HF-LF(10% tallow) before mating and through gestation period until weaning ,the offspring was maintained on control diet .At puberty, weight and metabolic parameters were recorded. The results indicated that from birth until puberty, pups of HF group showed higher body weight (p<0.05) compared to control LF, which reflecting early onset of puberty. The continued feeding on high fat diet (HF-HF), reduced pups weight and increased mortality rate with early age of puberty. The unsaturated fat diets in HF-P.d and HF-O.d regulating pups body weight and reducing mortality rate with normal age for puberty, except in HF-O.d group reach to 47 days .At puberty female offspring of HF and HF-HF groups had higher plasma leptin , insulin and biochemical parameters ,whereas the substituted with unsaturated fat resulting in normal value of leptin and insulin levels while triglycerides levels was increased than the control group LF-LF. The data indicate the importance of maternal nutrition to develop obesity in the offspring, which may be regulated by feeding with unsaturated fat diet.
